Hitler's Lair: photo - Przemyslaw Idzkiewicz
The so-called “Wolf's Lair”, which currently lies near the town of Ketrzyn, is state property, but a tender has been announced for a new tenant.
“We are mainly concerned about making the place more attractive,” said Zenon Piotrowicz, a spokesman for the State Forestry department, in an interview with the Gazeta Wyborcza daily.
The tender is being handled by the department on behalf of the Treasury, following the expiry of the last lease.
Some 180,000 tourists from Poland and abroad already visit the site each year. and the entire plot encompasses 13 hectares.
Potential investors will be obliged to pay a minimum rent of 470,000 zloty per year (108,000 euro).
Zenon Piotrowicz stressed that a precise reconstruction of the bunker itself – the structure is a ruin – is out of the question.
However, among other factors, the current hotel and restaurant facilities, which are located in former garage buildings, must be improved.
Ketrzyn, formerly known as Rastenburg, already lay on German territory prior to the war as part of East Prussia.
The bunker that was built in the surrounding forest became Hitler's headquarters on the Eastern Front, following the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.
The most dramatic moment in the bunker's history came on 20 July 1944, when German officer Claus von Stauffenberg planted a bomb in an attempt to assassinate Hitler.
The Nazi leader escaped with minor injuries, and the conspirators were hunted down and executed.
The Red Army ultimately took the site in January 1945, after it had been demolished by the retreating Germans.
Interested parties have until 27 January to submit their application for the property. (nh/pg)